Ari Folman President of the Jury of the Competition Programme - Feature Film of 17th Sarajevo Film Festival

Sarajevo Film Festival announced today (May 12) that this year’s President of the Jury of the Competition Programme - Feature Film will be one of the world’s leading film authors - Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman.

Folman’s filmography includes multiple awarded films such as WALTZ WITH BASHIR. Based on a true story, the film is a quest into the director's memory for the missing pieces from the days of the Lebanon War in the mid 80s.

Ari Folman's graduate film, “Comfortably numb” (1991) documented his close friends taking cover on the verge of anxiety attacks during the first Gulf war while Iraqi missiles landed all over Tel Aviv. Film won the Israeli Academy award for Best Documentary.

Between 1991 and 1996 Ari Folman directed documentary specials for TV. In 1996 he wrote and directed “Saint Clara”, a feature film based on a novel by Czech author Pavel Kohout. The film won seven Israeli Academy awards, including Best Director and Best Film. “Saint Clara” opened Berlin Film Festival's Panorama and won the People’s Choice Award. The film was screened throughout America and Europe to critical acclaim. Folman continued directing successful documentary series and took time off for his second feature in 2001 – “Made in Israel”.

Folman has written for several successful Israeli TV series, including the award-winning “In therapy”, which was the basis for the new HBO series In treatment.

Folman made his initial attempt at animation in his series “The material that love is made of” – each episode opens with five minutes of documentary animation which depicts scientists presenting their theories on the evolution of love. This successful attempt at documentary animation propelled Ari Folman to develop the unique format of “Waltz with Bashir”. Based on a true story, the film is a quest into the director’s memory for the missing pieces from the days of the Lebanon War in the mid 80s.

“Waltz with Bashir” won numerous awards including Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, six Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay, and award of Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Animated Feature. Film was nominated for Academy Award in category of Best Foreign Language Film.